Chapter 5

HAZEL

There is an expression of plea in my eyes as I look upward at the stone that is sure to come crashing down at my head any moment from now, but the girls around me don't seem to notice it. And even if they do, then they don't care.

Just then, I close my eyes in order to brace myself for the forceful impact the stone will definitely have on my delicate head, but I'm shocked when after a while, I don't feel anything, not even a single touch as light as a feather.

I'm puzzled by this sudden development since it's definitely not what I was expecting, so I start to open my eyes tentatively but surely. When I finally get them open completely, to say I'm shocked by what I see would be an understatement.

Standing near Cathy and looking at her with a murderous look on his face is the head taskmaster. The stone she was about to hit me with is still in her hand and now she looks around, trying to find a way to dispose of it and make herself look less guilty, but it doesn't seem to work because the taskmaster has already seen it, and his eyes are currently zeroed in on it.

“What are you trying to do?” he begins and then he holds up his left hand when it looks like Cathy wants to start defending herself. “My question was a rhetorical one, and I certainly didn't ask you to speak. I have eyes that I can use to see clearly, and I definitely know what you were about to do to Hazel here. You were trying to beat her up, weren't you? And not even with whips, canes, or anything of that sort but with stones. It seems that all of you were trying to do a lot of harm to her and you will all be punished accordingly.”

Cathy and all the other maids start to speak now, but he cuts them off immediately by raising his hand up again.

“Just like I said before, I didn't ask any of you to speak. From now on, anyone who does so much as utter a single word shall receive a greater punishment than the one I initially intended, so you will do well to keep quiet,” the taskmaster says menacingly, and immediately, all the maids cease their talking and keep their mouths shut promptly.

Then he goes on. “For trying to cause harm to your fellow maid who has the same rank as you,’’ he starts, “all of you will be assigned hard labor in different parts of the pack house, and as for you, Cathy, your punishment will be greater than that of the rest. You will be assigned to clean the dungeons for two weeks while Hazel will be let off her normal daily chores for a month before she will finally resume doing them.”

I don't bother to correct the taskmaster's assumptions and actually inform him that the maids hadn't actually planned to cause harm to me. Rather, they wanted to kill me. They had the intent to kill on their minds, and they shouldn't be let off too easily.

But I don't want more trouble than the one I already have on my plate as a result of being the mate of two powerful kings, so I just decide to keep my mouth shut.

They will be punished accordingly just as the head taskmaster said, especially Cathy who will be sent off to clean the dungeons that are always so filthy and smelly because of the stench of blood, sweat, urine, saliva, feces, and other disgusting things, so I should be satisfied, but the truth is that I'm not.

They deserve so much more than that, especially since they tried to kill me, and would have actually gone through with it if not for the timely intervention of the taskmaster. If he had not come as soon as he had, I would be dead by now, and I don't want that for myself.

I don't say all that I feel to the taskmaster because I'm glad that they are getting punished at least. I know that I should just let it be. I really hope the rest of the maids would leave me be for the moment, since I know Cathy won't because she is relentless. I don't want any of their troubles. I just want peace.

On the upside, I won't get to do any of my normal daily chores for a whole month. That's quite a respite and I'm glad for that. Since the entirety of my days will be completely free now as no maid or cook or even the assistant taskmasters will dare to send me on an errand since the order was given by the taskmaster himself, I don't know what activity I will use to occupy myself.

I will have to find something tangible and time consuming, but simple to do so that I won't get bored. I don't know what that is now, but I will definitely think of something later on.

“Hazel,’’ the taskmaster calls out and I'm snapped out of my musings as my eyes quickly look up to the taskmaster who is standing above me and looking down at my figure on the ground. He continues with his statement. “Find your way inside the pack house. Cathy and the rest, all of you should come with me for your respective punishments.”

With that, he turns around and walks away with all the maids following behind him including Cathy, but not before she gives me a very nasty look that reads deep. I know that she will definitely be back for more, but I will be ready for her the next time.

When they have all walked away from where I'm still lying on the dirt and are no longer visible, I pick myself up from the ground and dust my clothes off as best as I can.

Then I head inside the pack house and quickly make my way to my tiny storage closet room without encountering any of the maids. Once inside, I pick out a change of clothes from a threadbare box in the corner and head into the bathroom for a shower.

My clothes, though not new or anything close to that, are as clean as they can be because I take enough care to maintain them so that they can look as good as possible.

It's not until I have taken a warm shower and changed into clean clothes that the full impact of what happened outside the pack house comes bearing down on me like a pack of cards.

I was almost killed. A group of maids tried to kill me. I would have been dead now if not for the fact that the taskmaster stepped in on time.

I can't help but think back to how all of this began.